Winter calls us to our mountain
Just you and I
A few cold white months in our year
The low sun has a pale glow
Dinner with your favorite wine
Just you and I
Warm pie and hot cider are there
The roof protects us from the snow
We’ve settled by the fireplace
Just you and I
Laughter and smiles forever near
Always yes, we say, never no
Resting under a wool blanket
Just you and I
I stroke your face, sleep now, my dear
Let’s think of tomorrow, just so
Fog protects me from the heat of your stare
I struggle to keep pace with the ground cloud’s movement
Lest I be exposed
Water surrounds me
Walking barefoot in the surf
Over clamshells and smooth stones
Rolling waves from the horizon send
Whitecaps flowing through my toes
Yesterday I saw your face
Flushed red with sorrow
Accusing eyes reflected my own turbulent sea
I had tried to tiptoe through your world
But I am clumsy and I broke your shell
Morning mist hides my shame
The fog lifts
The surf recedes
I see my shadow on the sand outlining hot sorrow
So now I must go into the brown grasslands
My back burns from your gaze
Moving towards the forest
I clean the sand from my feet
And dry off my tears
I walk the muddy bank of a narrowing river towards a distant rise
A stream up a hill
A brook up a mountain
Touching the waters that flow to you
I climb to the top and turn around
Straining to see your shoreline beyond the horizon
Imagining your cooling anger
And knowing myself a fool
Sleeping inside a morning mist
And dreaming of your beautiful shell
I will stay until all my seas have turned to clouds
And I can hide no more
the wind drives down the mountain and blows me off course
first one way
then another
the summit is in sight
but i can’t see you anywhere
i tell the wind it cannot dissuade me from my path
you are there
you are there
but the wind drives down the mountain
and does not hear
i’ve heard nothing from you as i look towards the summit
your voice is lost in the air
scattered in the winds
diffused in the updrafts
diluted in the vastness of the sky
the wind drives down the mountain
i stand my ground and guard my directions
i kneel and face towards the summit
my legs are stone and my spirit hardened
i close my eyes to remove the distance
i close my ears to the howling lies
i will not believe the wind
never believe the wind
you are there
you are there
i know that you are there
Wayne L. Miller 